They said that the explosions were coming from the south and the west of Baghdad, leaving dense black smoke billowing over the city.

During the air strike the coalition warplanes flew low over Baghdad.

It remains unclear which targets have been hit during the latest air raid by the US-led coalition forces, the fourth round on the 12th day of the Iraq war.

Earlier in the day, at least five missiles fell on northern Baghdad around 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT). The western suburb of Baghdad was also pummeled, while Iraqi air defenses crackled at incoming warplanes or cruise missiles.

Just two hours ago, attacking warplanes swooped in to bombard Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's presidential palace in central Baghdad.

The Iraqi Information Ministry was also targeted in the attack. The building had already been hit in the first wave of air raids after midnight. A nearby shopping center was set ablaze as well.

The Iraqi TV lost signal for a few hours on Monday following a heavy bombardment by US-led forces, but later resumed broadcasting.

In northern Iraq, several bomb explosions struck the town of Mosul on Monday, and at least five bombs hit the Iraqi military positions outside the city, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV network reported.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2003)